


waking up

by astralgabriel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (but it's only light), Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s13e22 Exodus, FIx It, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Resurrection, The Empty, coda fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 01:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14683722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astralgabriel/pseuds/astralgabriel
Summary: The story of how the love of one human accidentally saved an archangel





	waking up

“I do wonder if your time for sleep will ever come.”

Those words, spoken in a distorted mockery of his own voice, were the first thing Gabriel heard. He blinked his eyes open as the fog slowly lifted from his mind, up at the grinning copy of himself. The being wore his image all wrong, mouth stretched too tight and malicious, arms hanging limply by its side.

The face was Gabriel, the voice was Gabriel, but nothing else was. It was like an ill-fitted suit, poorly made and baggy in all the wrong places, devoid of any real detail.

“I’ve been mulling that over too, buddy,” Gabriel retorted, flashing a bitter grin as he started to push his aching body up. The Empty snorted and offered out a hand; Gabriel hesitated, then curled his fingers around the copy of his palm, groaning as The Empty pulled him to his feet.

“What woke you this time, huh? Any guesses?”

“I’ve got an inkling,” Gabriel said, humming contentedly as he stretched his arms, each muscle straining individually, shaking off the fatigue. “Not the cheap KFC rip-off, thank fuck.”

For a moment, Gabriel could’ve sworn he saw something that resembled sympathy on the copy of his face, before it twisted back into the too wide, cruel grin.

“Tell me.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“ _Tell me_ ,” The Empty demanded. Gabriel felt the pseudo-ground beneath his feet shudder as The Empty growled, its voice dark and inhuman, an undercurrent of power threaded through each word.

Well.

Two could play that game.

Gabriel stepped towards the Cosmic Entity, squaring his shoulders. “ _I’m needed_ ,” he responded, in a voice that hadn’t been used for centuries.

The Empty understood. It didn’t care much for simple human needs or emotions, but The Messenger’s true voice demanded understanding, and The Empty understood.

“And why should I release you, hm?” The Empty questioned, raising an eyebrow. “All you ever do is come back and wake me again.”

“Come on, dude,” Gabriel said, clasping a hand on The Empty’s shoulder. The jacket under his palm felt nothing like leather, twisting and toiling and unnervingly alive. Gabriel drew his arm back with a grimace; the other being narrowed its eyes into a glare. “One primordial entity to another, do me a solid.”

The Empty regarded him, eyes flickering judgementally across his form. Despite the intensity of its glare, Gabriel refused to back down and lifted his chin.

“Will you leave me be for longer this time?”

Gabriel pursed his lips in mock thought and shrugged. “I’ll give it my best shot, Sleeping Beauty.”

The Empty let out a sharp huff, but said nothing more as its body slowly lost all shape and colour, blending in with the black engulfing everything. Gabriel stiffened as he felt it wrap around him, forcing himself to relax into the cold, damp embrace of the Cosmic Entity winding around his limbs.

* * *

The first thing Gabriel saw when he opened his eyes was light grey. Dull as it was, the hue was a godsend after the unrelenting darkness of The Empty, clinging to everything it touched.

He took a few moments to breath slowly, ground himself back in reality, feel his grace burning through his veins. It felt good to pause and truly feel himself, to know he was safe and in control.

Gabriel’s fingertips traced along the polished surface of a table; the soft cotton of the sheet over him rested gently on his face. It didn’t take much guesswork to figure out his vessel had somehow made its way to the Bunker.

Interesting.

Content with his sense of self, Gabriel saw no point in delaying the inevitable and swung his legs over the side of the table as he pulled his sheet off. He blinked a few times, wincing at the brightness of his surroundings, no longer buffered by the sheet.

Gabriel turned just in time to catch Sam walking through the door, coffee in hand. The hunter glanced once at the now not dead archangel, then did a double take, his mouth falling agape.

“Gabriel?!”

Sam’s cup fell to the floor with a loud clatter, smashing on impact. Gabriel instinctively flinched, his fingers curling white knuckle tight around the edge of the table. He loathed how inbuilt that reaction was now, but knew well that it would only heal over time.

“But I- We saw- You’re alive?!”

“In the flesh, kiddo,” Gabriel said, flashing Sam a bright grin and flourishing his hand melodramatically.

“But how? You died!”

“Me and The Empty are practically best buds now,” Gabriel said with a grin that only widened as Sam blinked owlishly at him. “I was thinking of inviting it around for coffee sometime soon, that chill with you?”

Sam just continued to stare at Gabriel, barely noticing as the fragments of his mug crunched underfoot. Step by step, Sam slowly closed the distance between them till he stood in front of the archangel.

With a cautious hand, Sam reached out, letting out a bewildered laugh as his fingers traced along Gabriel’s cheekbone. Gabriel leaned into the touch, humming as Sam’s palm pressed against the soft of his cheek.

“It’s actually you,” Sam said, his furrowed brow slowly lifting into something lighter, happier. “You’re actually here. Alive.”

“You’re feeling observant today,” Gabriel quipped, amused and a little disconcerted. Whilst Sam’s reaction certainly made him feel appreciated, it felt like more than he deserved, and Gabriel only knew one way to take control of confusing situations - humour.

“I just can’t believe it,” Sam replied, his gaze flickering over Gabriel’s entire form. “But, how? Cas told us about The Empty, that something has to wake you. How did you escape?”

Gabriel looped his arms loosely around Sam’s neck, wrists crossing at his nape, and pressed their lips together. After a moment of surprise, Sam melted under Gabriel’s touch and clawed one hand through the archangel’s hair, the other splayed flat against the small of his back.

Sam tugged back gently on the locks of gold entwined around his fingers; Gabriel moaned against Sam’s mouth, his lips parting. The kiss was everything they were - passionate and adoring and desperate. They kissed like they feared it all could be snatched away, hungry and certain.

It was Sam who pulled away first, pressing their foreheads together as his chest heaved. Sam looked at Gabriel with such reverence and fascination, a gentle smile spreading over his lips.

Gabriel closed his eyes and indulged in the moment, bathing in the brilliance of Sam’s soul, beaming at him. He let out a soft sigh, well aware that stolen moments like this were just that, and that a battle still raged on beyond these walls.

“Why did you wake, Gabe?” Sam asked eventually, ushering the silence away.

“You needed me.”

**Author's Note:**

> hey look i finally did a 13x22 coda!! sorry it took so long, that episode killed me :)))))))
> 
> i might do a further fic to elaborate on the whole “Me and The Empty are practically best buds now,” bit, as that's based off a rather painful idea i came up with earlier Whoops
> 
> (go listen to amen by amber run if you want heartbreaking sabriel emotions)
> 
> i hope you like it!! comments and kudos are always /super/ appreciated and make my day <3


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